-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A young woman stands against a crisp black backdrop . The photographer walks forward and gently turns her away from the camera . Today the focus is not on her face but on the delicate architectural feat that sits atop her head . It seems to almost defy gravity , with light radiating from the hair tower as it spirals upwards in a conical shape .

Hairstyles have long been popular fashion statements for Nigerian women . But over the years , the intricate braiding and eye-catching sculptures have often reflected the country 's changing sociopolitical times as well . And for the last six decades , one man made it his life 's work to capture the complex refashioning of his homeland .

In February , the renowned artist J.D. ` Okhai Ojeikere died at his home in Lagos aged 84 . He left behind a remarkable body of work , much of which is largely unknown outside Nigeria .

But now , many of Ojeikere 's countrymen are putting in a renewed effort to celebrate the life of the beloved artist -- through documentary films , exhibitions and an impressive monograph of work , Nigeria is presenting J.D. ` Okhai Ojeikere to the world one last time .

`` He started taking images of a nation that was in the throes of development -LSB- and -RSB- independence in 1960 , '' explains Bisi Silva , the founder and director of the Centre for Contemporary Art , Lagos . `` We discovered oil , money ... modern buildings were going up . So he documented that process , that transition into a modernizing nation . ''

A final wish for a departed friend

Over the last five years , Silva has been working tirelessly to complete an extensive monograph on Ojeikere . This has not been yet another project for the art curator -- Ojeikere was a close friend , and the duo had been collaborating on the monograph up until his untimely passing in February .

`` I had a very close relationship with ` Pa Ojeikere , ' as we call him here , '' says Silva , who turned to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise funds for publishing the book . `` I used to speak to him at least once a week . ''

Silva recalls Ojeikere 's passion and enthusiasm for the project and , holding it close to her heart , she says she 's determined to finish what they had started together .

`` He was really dynamic , really passionate about photography and there was so much to learn in his archive . Over the last five years , we became friends . He was like a father to me .

`` It was just such a big shock that he passed away . That he would n't see the book he was extremely excited about . ''

Documenting independence

Born in a small rural village in West Nigeria in 1930 , Ojeikere would become one of Nigeria 's most celebrated artists . For over 60 years , the master photographer fastidiously immersed himself in capturing his homeland , documenting every facet of daily life . His many photographs would come together to create a striking anthropological study of Nigeria .

The 1950s saw a young Ojeikere searching for a vocation . Rejected by the army , it was an uncle who inadvertently put him on a lifelong journey by suggesting photography . Starting small , the untrained amateur would photograph women in his village as they donned their Sunday best and headed to church .

Later on , Ojeikere got a job as a darkroom assistant at the Nigerian Ministry of Information . When he was n't working , he was often found at the local university , snapping moments between students , staff and events on campus -- once again capturing daily life on film . The country was moving toward a time of social change and political upheaval and Ojeikere explored this through his lens .

`` You 're getting a sort of history of Nigeria at a very important , transitional period , just on the cusp of independence , '' says Silva . `` And just after independence -LSB- in 1960 -RSB- , when there is a feeling of euphoria , feeling of liberation , the sense of ` now we can conquer the world , we can develop the nation ; we are free , we are independent . '

`` And this all comes out in the way in which individuals and people presented themselves . It 's like : ` Look at me . I 'm fashionable , I 'm modern , I 'm confident , I 'm educated . I 'm a professional . ' All these images amount to a visual image of Nigeria in the 50s , 60s and 70s . ''

Not just hair

Ojeikere 's next job was working for the national television station , a career move that enabled him to rub shoulders with other creative minds . This is when he started to take photographs with more artistic intent , explains Silva .

`` He started coming into contact other artists , filmmakers , writers and that 's why as he developed , the artistic intent as opposed to the anthropological intent began to develop . When we finally get to ` Hairstyles , ' they are actually done in a very specific manner . It was n't someone on the street . It was in a studio with a specific lighting , with a specific position . ''

The `` Hairstyles '' series , for which he is so critically acclaimed , features over 1,000 photographs of Nigerian styles since 1954 . But for Silva , his work documenting traditional Nigerian headgear and the country 's architecture , as well as his studio portrait work , must be examined alongside `` Hairstyles '' to fully comprehend Ojeikere 's legacy .

The images communicate a transition from the normal photographs depicting Africa , says Silva . `` The images we are used to seeing of Africa -- they gave a one dimensional perspective of a race , of a nation , of a people . It 's been a herculean work to bring this publication together . ''

Final tributes

Silva 's monograph is just one tribute to Ojeikere . Nigerian filmmaker Tam Fiofori recently released `` J.D. ` Okhai Ojeikere : Master Photographer , '' a documentary capturing the final year of the artist 's life .

Elsewhere , an exhibition of `` Hairstyles '' is currently shown across the UK . Curated by Gillian Fox , it is the first time audiences in the country are having the chance to view Nigeria from this perspective .

`` As a Nigerian , he wanted to document that moment in Nigeria when it was a time of colonial rule changing over to democracy , '' says Fox . `` He was keen in the wake of modernization to capture something that was quite intrinsic to his culture , his nation and he saw the rate of change that was happening and he thought hairstyles were fascinating and an art form in their own right , '' she continues .

`` They were something that should be preserved because the thing about a hairstyle is that they are really ephemeral . ''

She adds : `` I think it was a love letter to his country . He used photography which is a very modern medium to document these moments of social change . ''

Click through the gallery above to explore some of Ojeikere 's iconic photographs .

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Ojeikere was a Nigerian photographer who passed away in February

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Throughout his life , he took thousands of pictures cataloging the changing times of his nation

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Monograph from Centre for Contemporary Art , Lagos will showcase the work